In Arcadia
by Definitelynotaplatypus
Summary: At a party I suggested to a friend that there's no such thing as an idea so overdone it can't be redone. My friend (sarcastically) suggested I write fan fiction which contained, among other elements, a love-story between a vampire and a werewolf who must save the world and make it not trite. This rather long and growing old world of darkness fic is my best shot at doing just that.
1. Introduction

_**1. The challenge:**_

At a party I suggested to a friend that there's no such thing as a clichéd plotline- no such thing as an idea which has been done to death. My friend responded by suggesting that I see if I can write a fan fiction love-story between a vampire and a werewolf who have to save the world and make it not trite. I could choose what it would be fan fiction of, so I chose Vampire the Masquerade from the Old World of Darkness line, since a Gehenna scenario fits saving the world nicely. This is the story of Luke, Jake & Riverstone.

Don't worry if you haven't read much or any old world of darkness fluff, things are explained as the story progresses although reading the wiki article on Vampire the Masquerade couldn't hurt.

Inspirations for the fic (beyond Whitewolf obviously) include Harry Dresden, The Watch Trilogy, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality and Thelma & Louise. Genre-wise it has elements of horror, black comedy, romance, action and even a little mystery.

_**2. Characters & places**_

**2.1 Luke Baker**

History/Personality: Vampire (ninth generation Toreador though he's hardly an exemplar of the clan). He was completing a degree majoring in literature and history when he was embraced. Quiet, small, reserved and frustrated by a sense of powerlessness, it probably didn't help that he was a sickly, weedy and quite obviously gay kid in country town for the first eighteen years of his life. He discovered the supernatural world independently and was disappointed to find few answers and many new strings attached to him. He feels like he is going slowly mad under the drudgery and nagging guilt of his new existence. Post embrace, his only real friend is his sire, and despite her obvious (and strange) compassion he's never really felt that close to her. The prince considers him a promising servant because of his strong affinity for the Auspex discipline (discipline of insight), immediately upon embrace he could yield it up to the fourth degree and could do so with considerably subtlety. However he has been slow to learn other powers of the blood.

Physical description: Short and skinny with blue eyes and brown hair he has dyed black in order to help disguise his appearance from friends and relations of his old life.

**2.2 Jake Datsik**

History/Personality: Silver fang werewolf and third generation Russian migrant. His paternal grandfather had been a silver fang too, before he fell to the black spiral dancers. Jake wasn't raised under the best of conditions, working for Pentex as a biochemist after college; he soon chipped onto what was what. Fortunately for him he underwent his first change and sought refuge with a local Caern of Gaian loyalist werewolves. Six months later he's viewed with suspicion due to his origins- and because as yet he's never had occasion to kill or even fight an agent of the Wyrm. He's been sent into the city to kill one of the vampires who frequent the night-clubs as a sort of test. Like Luke he feels trapped in a hierarchy, by which he is the natural bottom rung. Something of a junky for risk (he'd probably be into extreme sports if he had the time or money) and with an overwhelming drive to do something meaningful, preferably something that would upset his black spiral dancer parents. When there is no movement in his life, his mood tends to blacken and he takes to his cups.

Physical description: Tall with wiry muscles he's neither especially attractive nor unattractive. He has green eyes and tawny blond hair.

**2.3 Riverstone**

History/Personality: Mage focusing on life and spirit. A little bit eccentric to say the least Riverstone hasn't seen people in over one hundred and twelve years of her subjective time (two of ours.) as such she can be a little difficult to follow in conversation. Heir to a pocket realm based on the theme of "The beautiful nature" she has more or less complete omnipotence within it, and has thus neglected to develop her powers in the world outside it. We'll find out more about her history as the story goes along.

Physical description: None in particular, she changes bodies much the same way others would change clothes. Usually she's good looking- if you could pick wouldn't you be?

**2.4 Calvin city**

Calvin is the every-city. Population three million. For the most part it has the features of an American city, but also some aspects of an English or Australian city. Native language is English and it's on a coast. Just imagine a generic city and you'll probably have a good image of it in your head.

_**3. Author's notes**_

The story has a fair bit of fidelity to the background of Vampire the Masquerade, but fairly little to the contemporary meta-plot. I wanted to make a Ghenna scenario in which a vampire, a low ranked werewolf and a weak mage are important players- that's just not possible based on the standard fluff.

The story has very little fidelity to the background or metaplot of Werewolf the Apocalypse, and even less to Mage the Ascension (the mages are probably as much based around Awakening as Ascension.)


	2. Chapter 1

Luke had begun to notice things he was not supposed to. He had seen a homeless man talking to the wind, and heard it answer back. He had observed that unnaturally pale men and women gathered at the bar across from his house on the third Tuesday of every month, and they didn't look like Goths at all. He watched as a street magician conjured various objects and had checked- _the hat really had been empty_. He began to notice how many news reports attributed things to gas leaks and mass hysteria which, when you thought about it _made no fucking sense in the slightest as explanations._

He supposed that he was probably going mad, and watched himself with a quiet curiosity. This was not a good time in his life (I'm given to believe the issue was boy-trouble) and despite the best efforts of his friends he felt numb to most things- even the possibility of going mad.

7pm and he walked across the road to the horsestead, the upper-crust bar featuring pale men and women, like clockwork, on every fourth Tuesday. As usual, they came and headed upstairs to the private area. Some of them looked altogether too posh even for here, dressed in elegant brand suits. This was far from universal though, one of them was barefoot and in a singlet, pale arms protruding –the staff didn't deign to notice.

Luke could feel something about them, something odd, off or unnatural. He'd seen too many anomalies, now was the time to talk to one. He strolled upstairs, preparing to put together a cover story about being lost on the way to the bathroom.

But he would ask them why they were there. He'd find out the truth about their unnatural pallor.

_This is stupid, maybe they just don't like going out in the sun. Maybe they're a support club for people with the same skin disease._

But he knew that wasn't true. He knew there was something odd about them, something off, something unnatural and though he could pretend to doubt that knowledge, it still felt like a certainty in his mind.

_They are not ordinary folk and you know it._

He kept climbing the stairs.


	3. Chapter 2

There was a burly man at the door upstairs, and he was as pale as the others. His arms were folded across his chest and his eyes were ruddy amber.

Luke was about to mumble something along the lines of "looking for the toilet", apologise and walk away when he was filled with sudden resolve.

"Oh hello, I have an appointment."

The guard looked puzzled for a moment and loped his head to the side. Then he smirked.

"Here for dinner are you?"

"Ah, yep, here for dinner."

"Well I wasn't told anything but I'll go ask."

He came out with a pale, middle aged man in toe, who looked Luke up and down.

"You haven't got any appointment here." Stated the middle aged man as a fact. "Be on your way."

"Listen. I know something odd's going on here. I just want to know what this is all about... I." Said Luke.

"Right then, step inside."

And Luke did, marching up to a table. At the table sat seven figures, each pale, each now gazing at him, some with curiosity, others with irritation. It was around this moment when Luke started to grasp that he was in more danger than merely being thrown out of the pub, an awareness that started in his gut and moved upwards towards his brain.

"Hi." Said Luke "I want to know what's going on."

They couldn't do anything could they? There was CCTV of Luke walking upstairs, he was safe surely. But something in their eyes said he wasn't. None of them stood.

Then one of them, who looked younger than the rest, cleared his throat. "What is your name?"

"Luke."

"Well Luke, I want you to look me in the eye and I'll give you an explanation."

Luke turned, meeting his gaze.

"Nothing is happening here. Everything is perfectly normal. Nothing you have seen to suggest otherwise is accurate. You will forget I said this. You will forget that you came into this room. You will remember considering doing so, then deciding not to, on the the grounds that it would be a silly invasion of privacy, you will go now, right now."

Luke kept meeting his gaze.

He knew exactly what he should do, he should walk out while he had the chance, he knew he should do this, his whole body was screaming at him. But almost as if the words of hypnosis or whatever it was had had the opposite effect, he found himself unable to move. He found his mouth opening involuntarily.

"I will not leave."


	4. Chapter 3

There was a flicker of irritation and something else in the eyes of the one who had tried to hypnotise him.

_He's embarrassed because you showed him up. You made him fail publicly._

"I will try one more time. Try to relax. Your life may depend on it."

_Well that's not helping._

Luke did try to relax, he tried to let the pallid man into his mind. Of course he didn't even know what it meant to let someone into your mind, but he had to try.

"... Now go to sleep." Finished the pallid hypnotist. Luke tried to pantomime falling asleep and crashing to the ground, evidently he wasn't very convincing.

Wordlessly the burly man from outside lifted him to his feet.

"Jacob." Said the pallid hypnotist to the burly man "You may have his blood."

Luke simply froze.

"Wait." Said an unassuming looking woman, rising to her feet.

"Yes Amelie?" said the hypnotist.

"My prince, do I not hold the right to sire a childe in reserve, for services rendered in past conflicts?"

"Yes you do my dear Amelie."

"Then may I speak with this young man."

The prince nodded and Amelie began to approach Luke. Placing her hand on his shaking shoulder she pointed a nearby table, Jacob released Luke and he began to stumble over to it, taking a seat for the strangest interrogation of his life.

"My name is Amelie. Your name is Luke, is this correct?"

He nodded.

"Luke, I will ask you some questions, and you will answer them honestly. If you lie, I will know you are lying. Please do not disappoint me, I am on your side."

She proceeded to ask him about his job ("Part time admin assistant"), his friends ("A couple, good people"), his study ("History and literature major at the moment") whether he had a criminal record ("Nope"), whether he was famous in an circles ("No"), what his political views were ("left wing I guess"), whether he had any health conditions ("I've never been especially well, but I don't think so"), his religious affiliations ("Atheist"), whether he often felt angry ("Yes but I try not to let it show"), whether he had a boyfriend ("No. Is it that obvious I'm gay?"), even what music he listened too (although that might have been to lighten the mood.) She recorded his answers on a notepad.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking to catch you out or anything, I'm just trying to build a complete picture of who you are. Bar you being a complete psycho- I'm going to take you in."

_Does that mean make me a vampire? What are the implications of that? Perhaps I'd rather be dead than that._

"You're a vampire aren't you Amelie."

"...Yes, I guess there's no harm in being explicit now." She turned to the prince. "I've made my decision." She nodded slightly as she said this.

"Proceed then." Said the prince indulgently.

The last thing Luke saw was a flash of movement and the glint of teeth.


End file.
